Slide over, Thomas Pynchon, and make room for another older writer's sardonic novel about contemporary New York, infused with conspiracy theory.

In "Half the Kingdom," Lore Segal finds plenty of worms in the Big Apple, just as Pynchon does in "Bleeding Edge." But in contrast to Pynchon's all-inclusive paranoia, Segal focuses tightly on one faltering ecosystem: the elderly and American health care. | Sept. 27, 2013»Read Full Article

Brink of success

Renaissance Theatreworks nurtures female playwrights with a play development opportunity called "Brink." This year the troupe is giving staged readings of the works of two Midwestern writers: Gwendolyn Rice and Jane Burroway. Rice's "The Griots" takes place in the 1930s in rural Georgia where a WPA Writer's Project worker goes to interview an elderly woman about her experience with slavery. It will be staged Monday at 7 p.m. Burroway's "Parts of Speech" will be staged Tuesday at 7 p.m. It concerns a woman whose brother is being held hostage in Lebanon and his younger self's discovery of a Japanese internment camp. Both will be staged at the Broadway Theatre Center, 158 N. Broadway. A $10 donation fee is suggested. | Aug. 17, 2014»Read Full Article